Travel Status

Will be on the road to NY the next few days so blogging will be light.

White House Garden--6 Months

Obamafoodorama has a post celebrating the 6 month anniversary of the White House garden.   I don't recognize many of the plants in the picture at the top (which doesn't mean much--I'm not good at recognizing).  The photo isn't dated--presumably it's maybe late August as there looks to be some fall lettuce growing. Because gardeners are competitive, I do wish there was more transparency.

Props to Obamas

As I was grumpy yesterday (see prior post), I'll give kudos to the Obamas for doing a family picnic for Secret Service and their families. It's a simple thing, but both good in human terms and in management terms.

Is Obama First Cook?

Must be getting grumpy in my old age, but my first reaction to Obamafoodorama's gush over Michelle's speech at HHS is to ask how much cooking she and Barack are doing these days.  A good feminist should have gone for a two-fer--it's time for more home cooking by men.  I have to admit I didn't watch it, and from watching her speak in the past I'm sure she was effective. But the Obamas are now upper class, which these days means servants, and preaching from the upper class sometimes grates.

21 Stupid Airline Travelers

Can you take a grenade with you when you fly?

21 people thought so in the last 14 months. (Or at least TSA caught 21 grenades.)

No Fun Being Secretary of Agriculture

Which son do you love more: production (i.e., "industrialized") agriculture or sustainable, local, organic agriculture? See Farm Policy for reports on a talk Vilsack gave in Iowa

No Politicians in Vermont

That's the word from Sugar Mountain, which has had its first snow, following a hard freeze, which kills off all pests like politicians.

And let me toss in this link from The Cotton Wife--the pictures are worth the wait.

Identity and Passwords

Interesting piece on passwords in this week's Newsweek.  The latest and greatest is not biometrics, but a one-time password you receive on your cell phone.  If that gets going, I'll really have to get into the modern world (I make very limited use of a cell). But our true security lies in the herd instinct--the predators get the weak and the unlucky while the rest of us run off thinking ourselves immortal just because we escaped.

Irish Scottish Dairy Farming

For those interested in dairy, here's a report of a visit by Ulster dairymen to Scottish dairy farms.

BTW, I would be curious whether the hired hands were Brit natives or immigrants (as seems to be the case in the US).  I'm also struck by the emphasis on butterfat levels--I haven't noticed that in the US although back in the day it was important (got paid a bonus for levels above 3.5 if I remember.)  There's a reference to the higher milk prices in Scotland than Ulster--wonder how they manage that.

The Bucolic Life

Is not danger-free. See this accident in York County, PA, an ancestral home.